Celebrity Cruises will buy nearly two tons of Maine lobster for its passengers this fall, boosting demand at a time when a glut of lobsters has driven prices to a 30-year low.

But it’s unclear whether the sale will go to a Maine dealer.

Even if it does, the purchase won’t put much of a dent in the lobster supply. The 3,800 pounds the cruise line will buy is roughly equivalent to a day’s catch from two boats, say dealers.

A spokeswoman for Celebrity, Tavia Robb, said Wednesday that the cruise line is still negotiating with wholesalers and hasn’t yet chosen one. She said one potential supplier is Steve Connolly Seafood Co. of Boston.

Steve Connolly Jr., the company’s president and general manager, said Wednesday that he wasn’t aware of any plans to provide lobsters to Celebrity Cruises.

If Celebrity Cruises does decide to buy from a Boston company, it still could get Maine lobster, said Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council.

More than 80 percent of all lobster comes from Maine, and much of it goes to Boston for distribution, he said. Maine, the nation’s largest lobster producer, landed 105 million pounds last year.

Connolly said he generally buys lobster from fishermen in Gloucester, Mass., who are probably getting some of their catch off the Maine coast.

Robb said the cruise line will buy a total of 3,800 pounds of live lobster when the ship Summit Celebrity visits Portland on Sept. 9 and Sept. 24, and Bar Harbor on Oct. 8.

This will be the second time Celebrity will buy live Maine lobster for its passengers, a choice that’s uncommon in the industry. Last year, the cruise line bought 400 pounds of lobster from Ready Seafood Co. of Portland.

Maine lobstermen are getting as little as $2 to $2.50 a pound for their catch this summer.

Earlier this month, lobstermen in Canada protested, saying cheap Maine lobsters were flooding processing plants there and driving down the prices that New Brunswick fishermen could get for their catch.

To draw attention to the glut and increase sales, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, sent letters to 10 cruise ship companies encouraging them to buy Maine lobster during port calls.

Celebrity Cruises is the first company to respond. At least one other company has expressed interest, said Willy Ritch, Pingree’s spokesman.

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